Engineers, students see STEM first-hand at robotics competition

By Sarah MattinglyMay 4, 2015

Middle school students volunteer at robotics competition
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
USACE engineers judge VEX robotics competition
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Spring of 2015 brought groups from around the world to Louisville. No, not for the Kentucky Derby. April 15-18, Louisville hosted the VEX Robotics World Championship, in which more than 850 teams hailing from 29 countries gathered for an intense battle.

This year's game, called Skyrise, involved a 12-by-12 foot square playing arena in which four teams making up two alliances--red vs. blue--face off by having their robots move and stack blocks as quickly as possible.

For the first 15 seconds, the four robots operate autonomously based on previous programming and design. After that, students operate their robots with controllers and try to rack up more points than their opponents before the two-minute time limit is up.

In addition to the Skyrise game, the teams competed in numerous categories from design to programming to sportsmanship. It was in these areas that 15 representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District assisted in judging.

"We actually go to the pits and talk to the teams," said Marilyn Lewis, Louisville District engineering division chief. "We talk to them about their designs and their individual roles on the team. We try to determine if they had a plan for their design, if they had tried different iterations, and so on."

USACE involvement in the VEX competitions came about through an order from Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, USACE chief, in which the Corps was directed to provide support to the U.S. Army in influencing, engaging, and encouraging future generations of science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals.

"I had a great time," said Corey White, environmental engineer and volunteer VEX judge. "We were able to speak with kids from all around the world and to see them have a blast competing in a friendly competition. Every kid I spoke with said that this has definitely inspired them to consider a STEM career in the future."

The VEX competition even extended STEM lessons to students who weren't competing. Over the last few years, the Louisville District has worked with students from Scott Middle School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, as part of the STEM ED program, a partnership between the Department of Defense Education Activities schools and USACE designed to inspire students to pursue careers in STEM fields, said Lewis who serves as the STEM Team point of contact for the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.

"We've made several trips (to Scott Middle School) over the last two years to introduce the students to the engineering career field and demonstrate how engineering ties back to what they're studying right now in class," said White.

As a fitting culmination to this relationship, a group from Scott Middle School volunteered during the worldwide competition to help make the VEX games a success.

"Students helped out with the competition in multiple events, but they enjoyed doing the field reset--restoring the cubes and skyrise pieces back to their preset places after each match--so much that they requested to continue doing it the second day," White said.

White said it is important to remember the impact this kind of interaction can have on the students.

"It's our responsibility--and our pleasure--to speak to them encouragingly and to urge them to continue to develop their interests and abilities."

Related Links:

USACE Louisville District